County demolishes Irene-ravaged home

First of about 30 homes taken down

After Tropical Storm Irene swept through the Northeast, President Barrack Obama announced $62 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will go to New York and New Jersey to help with the recovery effort.

Thursday, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin along with other emergency officials asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, to help the thousands affected by last weekend’s storm, which continues to affect people across the region.

Essex County, N.Y., is using the money to buy out damaged homes and demolish them.

About two and a half years after Irene came rolling through, the first home in Essex County, is being demolished as part of the FEMA buyout program.

The home along the Au Sable River is one of about 30 homes in the county slated to be taken down.

“Hurricane Irene was the most trying time for all of us here in the North Country, especially in the towns of Jay and Keene. We saw such devastation that we've never experienced before,” said Town of Jay town supervisor Randy Douglas.

“Diving up here to the site, we were reminiscing about which homes and the roads that were washed out, and we're still recovering,” said Essex County Public Works superintendent Anthony LaVigne.

According to Douglas, FEMA is giving Essex County 75 percent of the money needed to buy and demolish the Irene-ravaged homes. The remaining 25 percent will come from the state.

“There’s lots of regulations before you can even get to this process. It's been two years and seven months and it's certainly an emotional time,” said Douglas.

Douglas is hopeful that the buyout coupled with a ban on building in flood-prone areas will keep homeowners and public safety workers out of harm's way.

“Months after Irene, we brought all the homeowners together and they told us it was going to be a long process, so it's so hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but we're here now and we're glad we are,” said Douglas.